Until Later
by Switchblade Katchoo
Summary: Sometimes the most mundane tasks can lead to something special. (Clairice)


**Read First:**

**Don't own anything related to RE, or its characters. Just trying to amuse you people! Let me amuse you?! O_o**

Up was down, down was up and the taste of peanut butter remained on the back of her tongue as the rooftop collapsed beneath her feet. Wood support beams weakened by the harsh weather and abusive desert climate shattered inwards the instant she climbed up the fire escape to stand upon it. As far as last thoughts went, wondering if Alice was staring at her ass on the way up wasn't that bad.

"Sunumuh..." Claire Redfield spit out the spoon she'd been eating peanut butter off of and thanked whomever was listening for not spearing it through her skull, or down her throat. Choking on a spoonful of peanut butter wasn't what she wanted etched on her tombstone.

The red-head sputtered and coughed between clouds of dust that had been shaken up and was now settling like a blanket over the interior of what appeared to be the seating area of a diner. She rolled over onto her side, peering upwards through one eye and checking her route of entry to ensure no more surprises were going to land on her head. Only a blur of motion caught her sight, which quickly transformed into her newest convoy member, Alice.

"Holy shit. You're supposed to leave this kind of stuff to me." Alice quipped, offering a hand to the red-head so she could stand.

"Come on. You always get to have all the fun." Claire replied with a grin, taking the hand to haul herself up. She brushed off the dust and debris clinging to her clothing, glancing around the interior of the diner to see if they'd attracted any attention. She had enough surprises without getting mauled by the establishment's former employees, too.

"LJ, K-Mart and Chase are already giving the exterior a once over." Alice had quickly caught on to Claire's sense of priority and mindset in certain situations. She never wanted to butt heads with the convoy leader, always lending support and offering advice, but only when asked directly.

"Good." Claire respected the stronger, more skilled woman. Alice's opinion seemed to matter far more these days than when they first met, but she chalked that up to fighting by the woman's side and finally coming to trust her. Maybe not completely, like she did Carlos, or Mikey, but moreso than during their first encounter. "If all goes well we can get out of the sun for a few days and let everyone recharge their batteries. We can go over which way to head later with the old man." Claire settled the cap on her head, reaching for a walkie-talkie clipped to her belt.

"Speaking of, hey Carlos." She held it up to her mouth, one finger indenting the button on its side.

"What's up?" He responded quickly, the sound of an ATV growling in the background.

"Tell everyone to get settled in." The red-head stepped over a chunk of beam, approaching the length of counter where people could sit to eat their meal.

"Sounds good to me." His relief could be heard through the walkie talkie, a smile no doubt on his stubbled face as he worked his way around the building to set up a perimeter for the convoy.

"So far so good. This place is pretty isolated. Last stop for twenty miles, kind of place." Claire slid around the counter, peeking beneath it in both directions. Behind her Alice watched and moved forward as Claire walked to the kitchen and cautiously pushed open the swinging double doors with one hand.

"Might be a gas station close by. They usually go hand in hand." Alice said, one hand gripping a kukri at her side. The knives were better at saving ammo, reducing noise and had a curved blade to provide a better slicing action when chopping off heads. A little less work to be had than a straight edged machete, in her opinion.

Their conversation struck Claire as oddly casual. How they'd gone from simple 'yes', 'no', responses wasn't something she remembered happening overnight. Not that she was complaining, the red-head mused silently. She just found it interesting to note that they not only worked well together, but could converse about any topic and not feel forced to speak, or silenced by awkwardness. Claire shook her head lightly to bring herself back to the moment, poking her head into the kitchen as her body leanded into the right hand door and pressed it back.

"On the floor. About six feet in." Claire pointed with her free hand, feeling a brush of skin and clothing as Alice moved past her. While the brunette dispatched of the fallen zombie, Claire stepped inside and edged towards the opposite direction. She unclasped the leather sheath centered on her backside, sliding a well worn buck knife free. It had a wooden handle set into a gold hilt, the edge sharpened to perfection by Alice during one of their last stops.

Behind her a dull THUNK could be heard as the zombie's head was sheared clean off its shoulders. Claire crouched beside one of the cabinets filled with pots and pans, peering around the grill that was built into the middle of the large room. She heard a soft rattling noise, several forks spilling out onto the tile floor as a decaying hand swiped at a shelf filled with cutlery trays. Claire waited to see the position of the body and which way it was facing, before she came into its view, one arm expertly swiping outward in a flash of silver that drove the knife's point straight down into the center of its forehead. Claire jerked her arm backwards to free the blade, watching the body slump down without another twitch. She wiped the green goo off on its shoulder, keeping an ear out for Alice on the opposite side of the grill.

"You're not going to believe this." Alice didn't whisper this time, not sensing any other threats in the kitchen and not finding any more hiding in the various cabinets, or underneath the counters lining the walls.

"You find a squirrel?" Claire hazarded a guess. She walked around the grill to join Alice by an overhead pantry that was filled with flour and frosting and items to bake pastries with.

"Twinkies." Alice held up one of the golden cakes between two fingers. It was swiped in the blink of an eye by a wide eyed red-head.

"Oh...my...GOD..." Claire had never been so happy to see something that had been a commonplace treat before the end of the world. She could do nothing but stare at it, not wanting to eat it and lose its significance as a reminder of better days.

"Don't worry. There's a whole box. We can hide them in my bike and pig out tonight when everyone's asleep." Alice laughed when she saw Claire's reaction. Though she wasn't sure why she offered to hide them and she was definitly not sure what got into her to want to invite Clarie to eat them together.

"Deal." Claire replied, laughing as well. She handed the twinkie back so Alice could rejoin it with the others. "I gotta say, Alice..." She hesitated, feeling heat color her cheeks in embarassment. "...i'm glad you're here."

"..." Alice wasn't quite sure how to respond, her lips parting but no words finding their way out as the two simply looked at one another for what seemed like forever.

"Yo, can I get some service out here?" L.J.'s voice shattered the moment. "What's a guy gotta do for a burger and fries?" A lighter, female giggle, signaled K-Mart's arrival and it wasn't long before more of the convy started to file in for some shade and rest.

"I'll take the back door. See you later on." Alice jerked a thumb towards the back storage area of the kitchen that was connected to a short hallway ending at a padlocked door.

"Yeah. Later." Claire felt like a teenager having her first crush. Some days she could talk to Alice like they were best friends, other days it felt as if they were tip-toeing over some unspoken...thing...that was driving her nuts. Before LJ interrupted, she was sure it had been the latter. The red-head sighed at herself, watching Alice yank off the lock in one bare hand, the other wrapped protectively around the white Hostess box.

Until later.


End file.
